The Best of Two Worlds
by HeroMystic
Summary: Rouge has met Shadow after he left Station Square for two months. From that point, odd things begin to happen, and Shadow gets tested on where his purpose lies.
1. My Knight in Ebony Armor

A/N: So, this is a pretty different way of how I make a fanfiction. So, please excuse any oddness in this story.

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**Chapter 1: My Knight in Ebony Armor**

"Stupid landowners…"

Rouge sighed, scrubbing her floor to the house. She had recently bought this house like a month ago, and even called her government friends to announce her excitement to finally have her own house, moving away from the government and her own club called "Club Rouge", to find some peace, and away from the rabid men from the club. She did not like that kind of living, nor has she attempted to get into it. Besides, all she did was manage things for extra side cash.

Now that she had her own home, which is miles away from Club Rouge, the batgirl was now able to live peacefully, while thinking about more schemes to steal jewels, which makes her giddy into delight. However, the landowners have not taken care of the house very well, and the floor was quite dirty, so Rouge was stuck cleaning the house. Granted, she has been lazy with it, but now the landowners decided to give her a deadline to make it clean, which is two weeks after today. That was more than enough time for a normal person, but also keep in mind that Rouge is also a government agent and that's barely enough time to get one room done. Like all agents, she is never off duty, thus she had to get the house clean as soon as possible.

"Just they wait…" Rouge said, scrubbing faster, "I'll get a lawsuit, sue them, then buy more jewels to decorate the house with… then I'll…"

Rouge heard a pretty harsh knock on the door, hearing the banging twice. She decided to ignore it, trying to fulfill her current task first before doing anything else and hoping that the person at the door would leave. Of course, it's never that easy. She heard the banging noise three more times, which was getting on her nerves. Sighing to herself, she stood up from the floor, leaving her scrubber, and started to walk to the front door.

"I'm coming! Man you impatient people…" Rouge said, opening the door slowly, "I swear, if you people- Oh my god!"

What was in front of Rouge was a beaten, tired, and 'ready-to-drop' black hedgehog the instantly fell onto the batgirl after she opened the door. Rouge smelled Shadow the Hedgehog, noticing the blood on him as well as the sweat covered in his fur. Just what happened to him? Why is he here? Who did this? Those questions raced into Rouge's mind about her close friend, from who she hasn't seen for two months…

"_Shadow?"_

_Rouge called out to his friend, noticing his march out of Station Square and towards the valley ahead. Shadow turned around to Rouge, keeping his usual expression towards her, being emotionless as ever._

"_Where are you going?" Rouge asked._

"_Out," Shadow said, bluntly._

_This didn't satisfy Rouge one bit. For someone like Shadow to hide secrets have been proven to be quite dangerous in the past. She had to know._

_Pausing for a moment, Rouge opened her mouth, "Why are you leaving?"_

"_Why would you care?" the black hedgehog stated._

"_Because I do! You're my friend whether you like it or not, Shadow!" Rouge blurted out, covering her mouth afterwards._

_She felt embarrassed for saying that, but in one way or form, she was glad that she said that. Staring at Shadow, she could tell that he did a smirk, although it was barely visible. The batgirl grew a bit irritated by Shadow's stern behavior._

"_If you must know…" Shadow said, unfolding his arms, "I'm going to wander around… find a purpose."_

"_But you already have a purpose…" Rouge said, "And that's being a hero."_

_Shadow shook his head, "I am not fit to be a hero, nor am I going to become a villain… I just want time to think things out."_

"_Why not join-" "No."_

_Rouge sighed, seeing Shadow's mind was fully made up about joining GUN. However, she had to keep trying. Deep down inside, she didn't want to see him leave._

"_Shadow…" Rouge said, her voice with more emotion, "when will you be back?"_

"_I don't know," Shadow said again, "and I'd like to keep it that way, thanks."_

_Rouge paused, trying to find more words to say. Her heart thumped too quickly, giving her a large series of emotions in her at this moment. She didn't want to see him go, despite all of her military training to block out all emotional attachments to people, she did not want to see Shadow leave. The black hedgehog looked at Rouge, but then he turned forward and begins his march._

"_Shadow!" Rouge called out._

_She saw him turn around again. Yes! This was her chance! Knowing this, all she had to do was just think up the right words and he'll stay… right? She had to give it a try. Confirming herself, she thought of words to say then pin them down. Well, that was easy, now all she had to do was make the effort to say them. She opened her mouth, but all that came out was… gibberish. That's right, gibberish, equivalent to the word 'Blah'. Surprised, and flustered, she continued with her gibberish, trying to say actual words but just couldn't. Her temperature started to rise as she began to cry, and she dropped to her knees in attempt to use actions to make up for her loss of words. All that she accomplished was making Shadow smirk, and then walk off. She raised her voice to gain his attention, but it was all for naught. Shadow continued to walk, and Rouge stared at him until he was out of sight._

Rouge still remembered that as if it was yesterday. That what happens when you're not allowed to expose any feelings for anyone since you're a spy. She tried to keep herself professional around Shadow for such a long time that her emotions confused her thoughts. She had missed her chance to get him to stay because of it. But, she was finally able to get over it… until he came back, and fell into her arms.

The batgirl looks at Shadow, noticing he was out cold, and beaten, "Well, at least he isn't in a worse condition," she said, reassuring herself.

Rouge then noticed what she was doing. Why is she still at the front door? Not answering her own question, she hauled Shadow into the house and closed the door. Multitasking, she opened up a closet and grabbed a large number of towels while attempting to not get the floor dirty from a bloodied hedgehog. Successful at both tasks, she put the towels on her couch in the living room, and laid Shadow on it. Leaving momentarily to get a clean rag and bandages, her thoughts continues to conflict about reasons why Shadow looks so beaten. The one glaring thought screamed out Eggman, while all the others were just petty things.

"Fact is…" Rouge said as she walks into her bathroom and grab the bandages from her cabinet, "…Shadow isn't the type to get beat up… he'd rather die."

Pondering, Rouge walks back to Shadow, staring at him. Bruises was on his arms, his forehead looked like it recently bled, and his chest showed a large number of cuts. Rouge sighs to herself, thinking that these bandages may not be enough, but it'll have to do. She can't take Shadow to the hospital because some people might take advantage of his status, and she also couldn't afford GUN getting in on Shadow since he is the Ultimate Lifeform, which may lead to unwanted experimenting. Convinced, Rouge nods to herself and sat in front of Shadow and lifted his head up, taking the bandages and wrapping it around his head, moving the spiky quills out of the way. Once his forehead was wrapped and secured, she pulls Shadow to her lap to get started on wrapping his chest.

Despite the situation, Rouge smiles to herself, actually liking the moment. Shadow is back, and she had a new house… just what more could she wanted? Well, besides having Shadow back in a better condition of course.

Suddenly, Shadow's eyes just perked open and quickly sat up, although his body strained and his muscles got irritated, "Where am I!?"

Rouge put a stern look on her face, and grabbed Shadow's shoulders, pushing him back down to her lap, "Hold still you hedgehog, don't move until I say you can."

Although she was hiding it, she was surprised how quick Shadow got his consciousness back. Then again, he has pulled off some amazing stunts in the past, so why should she be surprised?

"…Rouge?" Shadow muttered, feeling on his bandaged head, which made him flinch in pain.

"Don't touch your wounds, you'll only end up making them worse and harder to heal," Rouge said, while she continued to bandage the hedgehog up, leaning forward to wrap the lower area of the chest, "Are you sick? Fever? Anything?"

"Rouge… I'm the Ultimate Lifeform."

Rouge did a small smirk, recognizing her mistake, "Right, Ultimate Lifeforms don't get diseases…"

It was then that she noticed what her current situation was. She is leaning forward to wrap up Shadow, and his head was on her lap. She is still wearing her usual outfit, meaning that her assets are currently saying hello to a certain black hedgehog. Smirking to herself, she quickly sat up to catch her peeper in the act.

"Gotch- what…?" she said.

What she is looking at is not what she was expecting. What she was expecting was a drooling hedgehog with bulged eyes. Instead, she has a resting hedgehog with closed eyes.

"_Relieved, yet disappointed,"_ Rouge thought, sighing, _"What a weird combination."_

Dismissing her thoughts, Rouge leans forward once more and continues wrapping up his chest, being careful and delicate. After a moment, Rouge wrapped it around Shadow one last time, then she cut off the bandage from the roll, fastening and securing the bandages to make sure that it was laying firmly on the wounds.

"There…" Rouge said, smiling to herself, "it'll get healed in no time, knowing Shadow."

"It would be really nice if you leaned back."

Rouge automatically leans back to notice Shadow looking up. Despite her expectations, he wasn't drooling, nor did he look like he was staring. In fact, he looked bored out of his mind. However, this isn't what hit Rouge. What got to her was the pure fact he hasn't said 'Thank you' or 'I appreciate it'. She could've left him out there in the street, or better yet in a dumpster. Her thoughts right now are telling her that she should've done so.

"Rouge…" Shadow said, which makes Rouge look at him calmly, "thanks for the bandages."

Now her thoughts are saying she was wrong for ever thinking of throwing Shadow in a dumpster, "N-no problem Shadow… we're friends right?"

"If you believe so."

Rouge puts on an irritated look, "Can't you ever give me a straight yes or no answer? It would be nice every once in awhile!"

Shadow makes a small visible smirk, and closes his eyes, not giving a reply. This only made Rouge more irritated, and she slipped from under Shadow's head, making him hit the towels on the couch unexpectedly.

"Ow!" Shadow grunted.

Rouge stops cold to her feet, and she turns around, looking more than curious, "What did you just blurted out?"

Shadow looks back at his ally, putting the same look she has. Rouge then just starts chuckling, turning into a laugh. Shadow kept the same look her had on his face, obviously wondering why Rouge was laughing.

"I can't believe…" Rouge battled to say, "You said ow! You sound like a kid when you did that!"

However, Rouge attempted to calm herself when she noticed that Shadow was less than stellar about the situation. She began to feel bad about her outburst, and began to think of a way to apologize.

Then, it hit her, "You want to use my bed to sleep on?" she asked, making a small smile.

"Why?" Shadow asked.

"I'll take that as a yes, come on Shadow, chop-chop," Rouge said, helping Shadow up from the couch, trying her hardest to not cause anymore damage to him. She noticed Shadow's slight confusion to the whole thing, but she didn't care. She needed him to be more comfortable, and lying on bloody towels wouldn't help.

Traveling down a hallway to the other end of it, she opens the door to her bedroom. Hauling Shadow, she walks in and lets Shadow lean on the wall.

"Stay right here," Rouge said, walking out of the bedroom. She grabs a clean towel and goes back to the room and towards Shadow, "Now hold still."

Rouge didn't want Shadow to get blood on the bed, so she wipes off as much blood as possible off of his body. Once she was finished, she put the towel in the dirty basket and takes Shadow to the bed, making him lay down.

"Get some sleep Shadow, you need to get well," Rouge said.

Shadow nods, and did no other type of response. Rouge makes a small smile, and walks back to the living room to get back to scrubbing. It was still late afternoon, which is enough time for Shadow to sleep, and hopefully he will feel better enough to walk around without worrying about injuries.

"Well, that didn't go so bad, good job Rouge, you did great," Rouge told herself, scrubbing the somewhat dirty floor, "you did your good deed for today. Too bad a reward wasn't involved… ah, what am I saying… Shadow's back, that should be good enough…"

Rouge's eyes suddenly perked, and she stood up, leaving the scrubber again, and walked back to the bedroom, "Shadow, what happened to…" she then noticed Shadow was fast asleep, "…you."

She sighs, missing her chance to confront the problem to her friend. Rouge forces a smile on her face, and walks over to the bed, looking at her sleeping friend. Well… she couldn't believe how Shadow is looking right now. When he is awake, he is the most emotionless guy ever. But when he is asleep… he just looks so charming… peaceful… beautiful. Shadow's arms were fully spread out from across the bed, and his left leg was slightly bent, the knee pointing towards the ceiling, while his other leg was straight. His feet were freed from their long imprisonment of the Air Shoes, which were laying beside the bed. What made it so enchanting was the fact that Shadow wasn't even using the covers, revealing more of him. He was snoozing quietly, his chest rising up and down with his stable breathing, and his mouth was slightly open. Rouge notices all of these things… how? Well, she's a spy, what do you expect?

"Well, I should leave now…" Rouge said quietly.

Well, she said it, so why isn't she moving? Her legs wouldn't budge to the left, not wanting to leave that room. Rouge's eyes couldn't stop staring at the black hedgehog. That peaceful face… his chest… his powerful legs… those lips. Oh god those lips. It hypnotized Rouge from the start, and now that she is this close… she just couldn't resist.

"Just a peck… just a peck…" Rouge said quietly, leaning forward.

The batgirl poked Shadow's lips with her lips, and stayed on there for a half of second before she reluctantly pulled back. The kiss was everything she imagined, tender, smooth, and tasty. All it did was make her want even more, and it showed from Rouge's shivering legs, that still wouldn't move towards the door.

"Just one more…" Rouge told herself, leaning forward again.

Rouge did another lip-lock, but this time her lips refused to move away. She didn't resist either, letting her eyes close and become warped into the kiss, letting her feel like she was in a dream. That was how the kiss felt to her, an everlasting dream; that would only last for a few more seconds. Why? Because when she opened her eyes, Shadow was staring straight at her.

Yelping in surprise, Rouge stood up straight and tried to make herself look normal, "I-I-I um, slipped and fell, don't take it personally."

That was such a horrible lie. Rouge may be able to analyze computers and electronics, but Shadow is an excellent face reader, especially with her. Rouge knew that Shadow knows when she lies through her teeth. What confirmed this further, was Shadow standing off of the bed.

Nervous and flustered, she began to think of more excuses, "It-it was an accident, Shadow, I didn't mean…" she was immediately interrupted.

Why? Well, she is currently unable to speak any words, only close to murmurs. Her lips are struck with another's lips, Shadow's lips to be specific. For a minute, no word was spoken, and only total utter silence filled the room. The two stood there, with their eyes closed, until Shadow pulled back. Rouge tried to push forward in order to stay, but couldn't, meaning her lips were still hungry and willing.

"Shadow…" she said.

The black hedgehog didn't say anything. He just pulled her close to him and put his lips to her once more, both being drawn into the tender, delicious kiss. Rouge got so into it, that s she leaned forward, making both her and Shadow fall onto the bed. Their lips danced with each other, moving passionately and in sync with each other. They were on fire, the passion shooting through the roof. While their lips engaged with each other, their hands traveled along each other's body, while their legs tangled with each other. Rouge didn't care about Shadow's bruises on his arms, she has never felt like this before, and that was good enough for her. Shadow, however, was a different story.

"Ow!" Shadow grunted, feeling on his chest.

That was completely her fault, which she had already admitted. Her hands were too firm onto his chest, and she must've irritated his cuts. Disappointed in how things turn out, Rouge sat up and got off of Shadow, sitting beside the black hedgehog.

"…What just happened?" Rouge asked.

Shadow paused for a moment, before replying, "I don't know."

However, in the back of her mind, she was glad it didn't go farther than that. Despite popular belief, she is still a virgin. The government trained her into seducing, but never farther than that. Thus, she has no experience in intercourse whatsoever, and she already knew that Shadow doesn't have experience. But right now, she was just confused…

Shadow sat up, despite his body's refusal, "Rouge…"

Rouge looked at Shadow, her mind off his wounds at the moment, "Shadow?"

The two touched each other's hand on the bed; both getting a small tingle that surged through their body. Rouge loved every moment of this, not believing how things turned out. However, there was something wrong with this picture, and she knew that. She looked at the problem the second time… then third, then fourth, until she finally figured out her mind wasn't playing tricks.

Shadow's hand was on top of her hand, "…I'm sorry for leaving you."


	2. All a Blur

A/N: Well, I wasn't expecting all of the good reviews so early into this. Thanks, everyone. I'll try to make the rest of the story just as good.

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**Chapter 2: All a Blur**

It was a pretty decent night at Station Square. The stars could be seen in the dark blue sky, the moon was shining bright, and there was no cloud in sight. Of course, this wasn't where all the excitement is. Tonight was a special night, Carnival Night. It was the night when all of Casinopolis' games were free, and there were other lesser quality games outside. The majority of the citizens were there, having a good time. Even the less likely ones, Shadow and Rouge—who was wearing a purple sweater at the time—entered the carnival as well.

Shadow had a lot of thoughts in his mind. Of course, this wasn't entirely his fault. Everything happened so fast, so quickly, that even his brain couldn't keep up with the progress. The two days with Rouge was a recovery period, but overall, he'd rather just leave. However, he couldn't. He just couldn't push away his 'ally' like that. She has been very compassionate towards him during that period, feeding him, helping him relax, and making him feel secure. It's like if Rouge was trying to be more than a friend towards him, and her 'accident' during the first day only proved it.

"Shadow," Rouge said, making Shadow lose his thoughts, "thanks for coming to the carnival with me."

Shadow nodded, "I needed to get some air anyways."

That was a lie, and Shadow knew that because he said it. Truth is, he doesn't have the slightest idea why he decided to come with her. Perhaps she was highly attractive to him? Shadow thought about that for a moment, then he mentally shook his head, kicking that thought out.

"Hey Shadow, there's one of my favorite games," Rouge said, pointing to a stand.

Shadow looked, and noticed the stand had a man advertising his game. Beside him, were three stools, and on those stools were stacks of milk bottles. Shadow, being the anti-social person he is, didn't know what the game was all about, so naturally he got interested. Nodding towards Rouge, they both went to the stand.

"Hey there fo-whoa!" the man said, looking at the two that just walked up to the stand.

Shadow mentally sighed, either the man was surprised to see the least likely person at a carnival, or he was staring at Rouge's assets. Despite the sweater covering the bare skin, they still stood out, but Shadow decided to go with the former.

"Aren't you going to explain the game to Shadow?" Rouge said, giving one of her smiles.

The man nodded, "Sorry about that folks, kinda zoned out there," he said, "here's what you do…"

Shadow listened, and couldn't believe how simple it was. All he had to do was throw the ball at the stack of milk bottles, and he'd win a prize. Getting rid of one stack gives him a bottle cap, two stacks give him a plushie, three stacks give him a giant plushie. None of those prizes excited him, but he did wanted to test his body after his recovery, and this would be a good way.

"I'll try it," Shadow said.

The man gave Shadow three balls, then stood to the side, "Remember you only have three chances."

Shadow nodded, then got to a stance. Throwing balls should be easy compared to throwing Chaos Spears. His aim should be close to perfect, and now it's time to test it. He threw the first ball, and it hit the first stack, making all the water bottles fall to the ground. He threw the second one, and same results. Then, he threw his third and final ball, and hit the stack. However, two bottles remained standing.

"Ouch, so close to that giant plushy!" The man announced, "Oh well, a plushy will do, congratulations!"

Shadow received a plushy that looked like a dark chao, and he remembered dealing with those before, "_They were a real pain in the ass…"_

The black hedgehog then looked at Rouge, then the plushy. Of course, he wasn't going to need a plushy, nor did he believe that it'll last long with him, so…

"Take it," Shadow ordered, handing over the plushy to Rouge, "It's yours."

Rouge looked a bit surprised, but a bit happy, "Really?" she asked as she took the plushy, "thanks…"

Shadow noticed something on Rouge's face… a tint of red appeared on her. He didn't quite know what it was, but she has done it before. It made him slightly concerned, and the curiosity was bugging him.

"You okay?" Shadow asked, "Your face is red…"

Rouge beamed at Shadow surprisingly; "It is?" she turned around and touched her face, "Oh, don't worry about it, it's nothing."

"It's something," Shadow said, folding his arms and tilting his head.

"No, really it's nothing," Rogue said, turning around and smiling, "thanks for the plushy, Shadow," she hugged the plushy, and if it was real, the dark chao would've been in between two heavens right now, "really, thank you."

Shadow didn't know if she was serious or was just trying to get him to shut up about her face. Either way, he decided to back off, and just nodded to her in acknowledgement. Shadow then heard something, like a small rush of wind, or a breeze in the air, and that breeze was coming awfully fast. Shadow put his hand in front of his face, and grabbed an incoming ball that almost hit him. Rouge looked surprised from the attack towards him, and Shadow looked around, then he saw someone very familiar.

"What's up, faker?"

Shadow sighed, "Not you again," he said, looking at his blue rival.

Seems as if Shadow's attacker was no other than Sonic the Hedgehog, and it was quite obvious due to the blue one's grin. Needless to say, Shadow was already irritated. Not just because of his attack, but also because he called him a faker. The hedgehog always seemed to get on Shadow's nerves, in one way or another.

Rouge walked beside Shadow, "What are you doing here, Sonic?"

Sonic chuckled, "The same reason you're here," he grinned once more, "to have some fun!" Sonic then looked at Shadow curiously, "But why is he here?"

Obviously, Shadow was about to grab Sonic's face to give him a massive amount of pain. However, Shadow saw a huge blob of pink just latch onto Sonic. The black hedgehog sighed, automatically assuming the identity.

And how could he be wrong?

"Oh, Sonic, look! There's a pretty cool game over there!" Amy said, pointing.

Sonic looked over at the game and smirked, chuckling, "Alright Amy, let's check it out."

"Hold on," Rouge said, in a curious tone, "You two are…"

"Yep!" Amy exclaimed, latching onto Sonic like a cuddle toy, making her date grunt in pain.

Shadow looked a bit curious. Last time he saw Sonic, he was still running from Amy at the speed of sound. Then, Shadow remembered that he was gone for two months, so perhaps Sonic finally submitted to the girl's feelings. Although, something didn't feel right…

Maybe it was the fact that Rouge latched onto his arm, "Well, Shadow and I are out on a date too."

Whoa! Wait a minute! Shadow gave Rouge one weird look, slightly blushing. He really felt like saying that Rouge has crossed the line, but then he looked at his rival.

"W-w-what?" Sonic stuttered, literally stunned, "S-Shadow and Rouge going out? No way!"

Shadow's blush instantly went away as he did a sly smirk towards Sonic, "What's hard to believe, hedgehog?" He didn't like this situation of being in a date, but if it meant that he could mess up Sonic's mind a little, he'll gladly play his part.

"Oh… nothing, of course!" Sonic said confidently, but Shadow could tell that he was… faking.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Amy exclaimed, "Lets double date!"

"Double date?" Shadow asked, putting a curious look on his face. It looked like being anti-social was really taking its toll.

"It's when two couples hang out together," Rouge said, still holding onto Shadow's arm.

Ah, so that's what it was. This made Shadow smirk, because all that meant was there were more chances to belittle the blue blur. Anything, even if it meant being on this… date… was worth that, "Okay, I accept."

"Really?" Rouge stated, looking curious.

Shadow shrugged at his 'date', "Why not?" he said that rhetorically, and then he looked at Sonic with a smirk, sending him a clear message on why he accepted the double date. He then noticed Sonic got the message when the blue hedgehog sent back a smirk.

Looks like things were going to get more interesting, "Alright Amy, what was that game you were looking at?" Sonic asked.

"That one!" Amy exclaimed, pointing at a stand with two hammers, and many holes.

"Whack-a-mole?" Rouge stated.

"Oh, that's a pretty fun game!" Sonic stated, and then looking at Shadow, "Even you should know how to play this one, Shadow." He said that with a grin.

Shadow paused. Sadly, he _didn't_ know how to play that game. However, he could tell by the title that involved whacking a mole, so it couldn't be that hard. Shadow then gave Sonic a smirk, "Just be ready."

Shadow and company went over the Whack-a-Mole stand. At this point, Shadow wasn't quite sure what to do, besides taking a hammer. He then noticed that Sonic took the other hammer, which didn't bode well with him. He had no idea how this was going to work, and he's already in competition with the blue hedgehog. Continuing to observe, Sonic then pressed a button, and a kiddy siren sounded off. This somewhat alerted Shadow, as it came out of the blue, and he started to look around.

"Shadow! Look at the game!" Rouge shouted.

Hearing the batgirl, Shadow looked at the game, and it was just in time to see Sonic slam down his hammer onto a mole, making the robot fall down into its hole. Another mole then came up, and Sonic whacked that one as well.

Ah! So that's how you get points! Shadow quickly registered that into his mind and raised his arm, quickly slamming his hammer down on a mole.

"Finally learned how to play, eh?" Sonic stated, grinning.

Shadow fully ignored that, concentrating on the game, and whacking another mole while Sonic was busy trying taunt the black hedgehog, "Keep your eye on the game, blue one." He partially wished he didn't say that, as he could've scored more points with him so distracted. However, this would only make his victory much more sweet.

Shadow and Sonic continued to play, the moles emerging more frequently and staying apparent in lesser intervals of seconds. However, Shadow was the ultimate lifeform, and Sonic was a supersonic hedgehog. This was all slow motion to them. Shadow continued to whack, and whack, and whack some more, until a buzzer went off. Shadow looked up and thought he did something wrong, but then he saw Sonic looked up as well, sighing.

"Man, it's over…" Sonic said, disappointed.

Shadow sighed in relief. He didn't want to screw up, especially in front of the blue blunder. While making mistakes was part of nature, he never wants to make one in front of Sonic. Why? Well, he would never let it go, constantly using the ammo to belittle Shadow. Of course, Shadow does the same thing as well, so it's only fair payback.

Then again, Shadow was well known to not make any mistakes.

Suddenly, Shadow saw two numbers appear on the top of the Whack-a-mole stage. On the left, it was 18, and on the right, it was 18 as well.

"Aw man, you gotta be kidding!" Sonic exclaimed upsettingly, "It's a tie!"

Shadow could hear Rouge and Amy laugh out loud, which made him smirk. Sonic's childish reaction made him make a fool out of himself.

The black hedgehog then saw a hammer pointed at his face, "Let's go again!" Sonic challenged.

This made Shadow keep his smirk, and he calmly pushed the hammer out of his face, "Now Sonic, keep in mind that you do have a date."

"But…"

"Come on Sonic, Rouge and I wanna play!" Amy stated, walking up to Sonic and taking the hammer from her date, "You can have your rematch with Shadow later."

"But…"

"Oh Sonic, this will only take a moment," Rouge said, smiling to Shadow.

Shadow gave his hammer to Rouge and stepped aside, then looked at Sonic. He still looked upset, but he stepped aside and watched Amy. Shadow felt that his mission was accomplished. Sure, Shadow didn't win against Sonic. However, being better than the blue blur was not his objective. His true intent was making sure that Sonic _did not win_. As long as Sonic was able to get upset from not winning, then Shadow could settle with not beating his rival.

Shadow then watched Rouge and Amy play. The batgirl looked concentrated, while the self-proclaimed girlfriend… well, maybe a true girlfriend now… continuously made her waist sway to the Whack-a-Mole music that came from the stand. The moles then popped up frequently, and both of the ladies whacked away. Shadow continued to the watch until the buzzer went off. The numbers on the stand then appeared, the left being 15, while the right was 21.

"Woohoo!" Sonic sounded, raising his arms in the air, "Amy, you won!"

"Well, yeah!" Amy replied, grabbing onto one of Sonic's arms and hugging it.

Shadow noticed Rouge approaching him, "I lost…" the batgirl said, sounding slightly disappointed.

So, this is the part where Shadow was supposed to say encouraging words… crap. He wasn't so good at that. His nature of just being blunt was going to get in the way, but he tried as best as he could, "Can't say I'm surprised, she does carry a mallet with her all the time."

Okay, that was rather stupid to say, but it was the honest truth. At this point, Shadow didn't know what to expect, but what he didn't expect was the unexpected. That would be Rouge chuckling at what the black hedgehog said.

"You're right, it's no wonder I lost," Rouge said, smiling.

Shadow thought that maybe she somehow rubbed off on him, or maybe he rubbed off on her, but the way that Rouge took his statement was rather odd. Usually, she would put a stern look towards Shadow and fold her arms, but tonight was not the same case. This made Shadow slightly nervous, and then began to confirm what he feared ever since they entered into the carnival.

"Hey Rouge, you wanna get some drinks?" Amy asked.

"Sure," Rouge answered, walking with Amy to the refreshments, "you two boys play nice, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sonic said, grinning and doing a small wave.

Great. Now it was just Shadow and Sonic. This made the black hedgehog slightly more nervous, as he was unprepared for this.

"Hey dude, lighten up," Sonic said, smiling, "We're here to have fun, right bud?"

Those statements surprised Shadow, and he looked at Sonic oddly, "Weren't you just hellbent on trying to defeat me?"

"Yeah, but then I remembered that this is a carnival, and the only competitions that count between us are the footraces. So the Whack-a-Mole doesn't count."

Shadow slowly shook his head, "You do know we're also tied on the footraces as well."

Sonic frowned, "I forgot…"

That made the black hedgehog smirk, "Then we'll settle the score some other time."

And that made the blue hedgehog smirk back, "All right, I'll look forward to that."

…Did they just have a friendly conversation? Shadow just triggered that into his mind, and that slightly worried him. Perhaps it was the atmosphere, or maybe it was Rouge… but his anti-social personality dwindled. He didn't like that much, as he never did fit into the 'happy-zone' as what he called it, where Sonic and his friends were heroes in Station Square, being well known and loved to all the citizens. Shadow did not want to be anywhere near that, which was his main reason for leaving in the first place.

Eventually, Rouge and Amy came back with four bottles. Three of them were lemonades, while one was water. Shadow was given lemonade, while Sonic was given one as well. It was obvious that Amy was the one with the water.

"So Sonic, what's next on our list?" Amy asked.

"Well, lets go inside Casinopolis!" Sonic suggested.

"Good idea!" Rouge agreed.

Shadow just shrugged, "Okay," he was really in no mood to disagree, as he was still undercover as being a date. Besides, he is still on a never-ending mission to mess with Sonic's head. However, he looked at Rouge, who was drinking her lemonade from a straw while still holding her dark chao plushy to her side.

He waited until Sonic and Amy walked off to open his mouth, "Rouge, why did you say we were dating?"

Rouge looked at Shadow with a look of shock, but she quickly made that disappear, "Oh, sorry about that." She paused, "You know how Amy gets. If she thought we were just acquaintances, then she would be attacking me because she would think I'm a threat on her conquest to stealing Sonic's heart."

Shadow sighed, looking deep into her face. He saw from her slight face twitching that she was nervous, which would indicate lying. He however, decided to go against his motives this time, "All right, just warn me next time."

"Consider it done."

Shadow nodded, "But since we're still playing the part…" he grabbed Rouge's hand, "might as well do it well." He said, beginning to walk to Casinopolis. He noticed that he made Rouge's face red again, and he almost wanted to address it again. He however, didn't.

Instead, he just hoped that this wouldn't get out of hand.


	3. Curiousity Kills the Bat

A/N: Yeah, I know. I've been gone for a very long time. What made me finish this chapter was rereading all of the reviews. So yeah, I'm back again, and I'll be sure to finish this story. I won't be making any promises on how long it'll take though, but I will promise that it won't take me a year to update.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Curiosity Kills the Bat**

"That went pretty well."

"Well, yeah! We should definitely do it again!"

"I wouldn't mind that."

"Really? What's the date then?"

Rouge's mind triggered a number of things, slowly shaking her head while on the phone, "Well, I'd have to talk to Shadow first…"

Rouge then heard Amy groan disappointingly on the other end of the phone, "I see, well be sure to call me back. My number is…"

Rouge listened to the number, not even making the hassle of finding paper and pen. She is very good at remembering numbers. Perhaps better than the black hedgehog… well, not really, "Okay, got it. I'll be sure to call back."

"Okay! Goodnight, Rouge!"

"Night Amy."

Rouge hung up the phone in her bedroom, sighing. She thought back at Casinopolis, and smiled. The time there was fun, especially when Sonic got upset over a pinball game. Why? Well, Shadow's score tied with him, although Rouge was quite positive he intended that. If there was one thing that Sonic hated more than someone being better than him, was someone being on par with him.

The batgirl took off her purple sweater, revealing her usual suit that demanded cleavage. She hated sweaters, as they lower her flexibility and skills. The only reason why she put the shirt on in the first place was because Shadow said something about… what was that phrase… public decency? That phrase wasn't in her vocabulary, but she put it on just for Shadow's sake.

Speaking of the black hedgehog, she wondered what he was doing right now. She knew he had an enjoyable time at the carnival, even if it was just because Sonic kept getting belittled. Part of her though, wished it were because she was with him. Sighing, Rouge left her bedroom, going into the main room, which was cleaned thanks to the free time she requested from the government. From there, she saw Shadow, just standing there and fastening his gloves.

Wait a minute… fastening his gloves? She quickly looked around, seeing an electronic clock showing that it was 11:50 P.M. Then she looked at the black hedgehog, seeing that his shoes were on him as well. The one thing that got to her though, was that he was staring right at the door to the outside world… "Shadow?"

Shadow looked at her, "Hm?"

Rouge felt her heart get heavy, knowing that her fear was knocking on her door. However, she was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, "So, what did you think of the carnival? You know, Amy asked if you're willing to have another…"

"It's time I left, Rouge."

Just like that. With no disregard for her feelings or desires, Shadow just bluntly said it. You'd think Rouge would be used to it by now, but she didn't. In fact, she just felt her face scrunched up, a number of negative emotions demanding to be revealed. The first one would be anger, "What!? You've only been here for three days!"

Shadow put on his usual face, which would be his emotionless face, "That's long enough."

This cannot be happening. This is exactly what happened two months ago, and she did not want it to happen again. Not this soon, and not ever. That's when the second emotion came up, which would be sadness. She quickly approached Shadow and grabbed his hand, "That's not long enough! I bet you haven't fully healed yet!"

Even after all of that, Shadow still remained calm, "I'm good enough."

Screw his health. This was for her! She felt something about him long before he even left two months ago, and it only amplified when he came back. During that carnival, it rose even higher, and she tried her best to hide it for his sake. Now he's going to have the audacity to leave? No! She wasn't going to take that. It was then a large number of emotions consumed her. She opened her mouth, and said something… to the equivalent of 'Blah'. Not again! She was trying to say, "I don't want you to go, damnit! Stay with me!" but that wouldn't come out. So basically she was yelling out gibberish.

She could see that Shadow was amused by it, and he put on the same smirk he did when he walked off, and now he was doing the same thing, heading towards the door. Rouge held onto his hand, but he ripped it away from her. Bah, she may not be able to talk straight, but she can still use her actions. She ran in front of the door and turned to Shadow, extending her arms and legs, and also her wings, blocking the door from Shadow's grasp.

That didn't seem to phase the black hedgehog, but she kept her place. Rouge wanted to send a message to her friend, and she was going to make it loud and clear. Shadow approached her, and stopped, staring into her eyes. Rouge felt this was her chance, and made a pleading face. Maybe it would work, maybe it wouldn't, but she had to try. Words would do nothing at this point.

It was then that she felt an intense force in her gut, and she leaned forward, her eyes widening and her mouth open, the wind knocked out of her. She could felt the spit that was in her mouth fall out of her, and she could feel her eyes get slowly consumed with darkness. It was then she noticed what happened.

Shadow punched her harshly in the gut, "You won't miss me."

She tried her hardest to keep her eyes open, but she couldn't. It was then her final emotion peaked everything else she was feeling, and that was depression. She failed to keep what was close to her. She lost Shadow again, and this time, she may never see his eyes ever again.

Rouge then fell to the floor, unconscious.

--

"I have to say... it was actually pretty fun."

Sonic recently left Amy's apartment, and returned to Tails' workshop at the Mystic Ruins. The date was really awkward, since it was the first official time that Sonic actually accepted a date instead of Amy forcing it on him. The only thing that was forced this time, was that Tails wanted to hear the full story of it.

"Really?" Tails asked, his eyes widened in surprise.

Sonic nodded, "Yeah, Amy and I had a good time." He then saw Tails tilt his head, which made him chuckle. He understood why though, as even the hedgehog himself did not think he would have a good time himself, "Come on Tails, I'm serious."

Sonic knew this was going to be odd, but he didn't think it would strike Tails this oddly. He did ran away from Amy a lot in the past, and he did ignore her calls from the phone... or even in person. Although, all it took was one day to change that...

_Sonic ran down the streets of Station Square, patrolling the city. Ever since Eggman 'went on break' from attacking the city, or stealing Chaos Emeralds, the thrills have been limited. Although there were some minor burglaries... some guy stealing a woman's purse and things of that nature, there was never anything big. Having a vacation is one thing, but losing your edge is another. What was worse was that, Shadow wasn't around to keep his skills at peak._

"_Come on... he has to be plotting something," Sonic told himself, as he continued to run from alleyway to alleyway, trying to find at least __**something**__ to point a clue to Eggman's scheming. Hell, even a sign saying 'Robotnik is over there' would work._

"_SONIC!" The blue blur screeched to a halt, wondering where that call came from. He looked around until he finally registered what the voice was. He then got the urge to smack himself for stopping, but couldn't when he felt a body wrap around him. Luckily he was able to get his hands up to avoid being pinned._

"_Oh Sonic, I'm so glad you--" blocked. At this point Sonic knew the usual line Amy says whenever she is lucky enough to get her hands on him. All that mattered to him now, was to get this obsessive girl off him! _

_Sadly, he didn't have the heart to do it forcefully, "Amy, I got work to do..." Granted it wasn't work, but if Sonic said it was work, it'd sound more important. However, Amy just looked at Sonic with those giant green eyes, and hugged tightly. This made Sonic yelp in pain. All that 'boxercise' must've really paid off._

"_Aw, you have all the time in the world to do work, Sonic. Eggman is never around anymore, so it can just be about you..." Amy sighed happily, "...And me."_

_Sonic mentally made a face of disgust. The last thing he wanted to deal with was a relationship, _"Gotta think of a way out of this... and fast," _he thought, and he looked around... crap, nothing. He then thought again, until he thought of something perfect, "H-hey, look! There's perfume!"_

_Amy instantly looked over, "Where?" and that was all that Sonic needed, he slipped away from Amy's arms and backed up. He then turned around, _"Finally..."_ and he started to run... until he heard something that made him stop right in his tracks. He didn't know how it happened so quick, or even why he ruined his chance to get away, but his heroism made him turn around to confirm his thoughts._

"_Oh no..." Sonic muttered, and he sighed. As it turns out, Amy was on her knees, crying her heart out. The one thing Sonic hated, was making a girl cry. He walked back to the obsessive hedgehog and looked at her, "Uh... Amy?"_

"_Is there something wrong with me, Sonic?" Amy asked sadly, her eyes still pouring, "Am I ugly? Fat? Annoying..." At that moment, Sonic thought, _"Bingo." _but he didn't let it show, "...Fat? I'll boxercise even more if that'll make you happy, Sonic! I'll do anything!"_

_Oh dear god... is what Sonic could only think of when Amy continued to whine. Couldn't Amy just get the obvious hint that he just didn't want to be in a relationship? The blue blur guessed not, since she continued to cry, "I'll lose weight, okay? Will you accept me then!?"_

_Sonic opened his mouth, but instantly closed it. Now that he thought about it, he was in a very tight bind. He remembered when Emerl was still around, and it just so happened that while he was over at Amy's apartment, that she fainted because she continuously exercised and neglected eating. Thankfully that problem was resolved, but if she went back to it... Emerl won't be there to save her this time._

_Sadly, this left Sonic with only one choice... "No Amy... I'm sorry..." This made Amy perk up and look up at Sonic, and the blue one eyed away a bit, "You're perfectly fine... in fact, I'd love to go out with you."_

"_Really?" Amy replied. Sonic would like to say no, but in order to keep Amy safe and healthy, he'll have to suck this one up and play along. With that thought, he answered, "Of course I do. Just tell me when and I'll be there."_

"_Uh... how about Carnival Night?" This made Sonic nod. Carnival Night was actually pretty fun, so it was a good consolation. Afterwards, Amy smiled brightly, and gave Sonic a warm hug, "Good! Then I'll see you in front of the entrance! See you later, my hero." Amy said with a smile, then turned and ran off. Sonic decided to completely ignore the fact that Amy automatically stopped crying when he caved in._

He talked it over with Tails, and he completely agreed that his best friend should take the fall for this date in order to make sure that Amy wouldn't put herself in danger from grief. He expected boredom out of the whole thing, but Sonic actually... enjoyed hanging out with her, and it got even better when he spotted Shadow, a person he hasn't seen in two months.

However, this totally freaked out his little buddy, as he just continued to stare in amazement, "Come on Tails... I really did have a good time... in fact, I wouldn't mind going on another date."

Sonic smiled when Tails got out of his surprised state, "...Did Amy brainwash you?" and that statement automatically made Sonic frown, "You do remember that you went out with her just so she wouldn't do anything crazy, right?"

"Of course I do, Tails, but..." Sonic looked for the right words to say, but couldn't really find them, so he looked for the next best thing, "...Things change." He shrugged, and smiled to ensure he was telling the truth, but Tails just shrugged.

After that, the phone rang, and Tails went and answered it. This gave Sonic the opportunity to sigh and shake his head. It wasn't that hard to believe... was it? I mean, Sonic did kept his distance away from Amy a lot, but this date changed it. Anything could happen, right?

His thoughts were put to an abrupt end when he heard Tails say, "What?" He then looked over to his pal with a sign of concern, "Okay, I'll tell Sonic right away," At that note, Sonic walked over to Tails as he hung up, "That was Amy, she said Rouge called her, and Shadow is gone."

This made Sonic's eyes widen, "What!?" That didn't sound right at all. He just talked to him about an hour ago.

"I thought Shadow left Station Square?" Tails asked curiously.

Sonic shook his head, "I was just as surprised as you were when I first saw him back. I met up with him and Rouge when I was on my date..."

"Wait, Shadow and Rouge were at Carnival Night?" Tails asked, sounding quite surprised.

"No time to explain. I need you to get to Amy, while I head over to Rouge's place, got it?" Without waiting for a reply, Sonic was already out of the door.

--

Rouge struggled to stand up straight. Whenever she tried, she was forced to slouch over to get rid of the pain she felt in her gut. That punch Shadow did to her was strong, and fierce. Of course, Knuckles' punches were harder, but there's something about Shadow that makes his movements precise and critical. Even the batgirl herself was surprised that one punch took her out.

She tried to stand up straight, but once again failed. She yelped in pain and put her back against the wall, and slid to the floor. Pretty soon, her mind drifted back to the previous events. He's gone, again, and there was nothing she could do about it, "...Damn you Shadow..." despite the kiss from the first day, the mock date, and the good time he had there, that bastard still decided to leave without any remorse, "Damn you, damn you, damn you!" Rouge wasn't much of a crybaby, but man, can she curse. She continued to shout at herself, cursing the black hedgehog's name, until she finally caved in and let her eyes get watered up. She then began to...

"Rouge!"

Or not. Rouge quickly rubbed her eyes as she heard Sonic rush in the doorway. She then tried to stand up, but the pain was too immense, and she just fell right on her butt. Squinting her eyes a bit, she opened them when she detected Sonic in her view, "Sonic..."

"You don't look so good..." Sonic said, kneeling down, "What happened?"

The one thing good about Sonic is that, when you need him, he's always there. Unlike a certain bastard... "I'm... not quite sure." Course she does, she just didn't want to admit it.

And of course, Sonic wanted to know more, "Who attacked you, and what happened to Shadow? Were you two ambushed?" Rouge figured why the blue blur thought it'd be an ambush. The door was wide open when he got here.

"No..." Rouge paused. She still didn't want to admit her failure, as she hated to fail. Especially when you fail at something you care plenty about.

"Then what happened?" Sonic continued to push the point, and Rouge was getting slightly irritated about it. She knew he was trying to help, but couldn't he shut up for one moment so she could think? "Come on Rouge, talk to me." Apparently not.

She didn't want to admit it, and she didn't want to say it, but Sonic needed to know. This realization really ticked her off, "He knocked me out and he left, all right!?" She burst out to Sonic, eyes beamed at him. She immediately noticed what she was doing and she looked away.

"He did what? Why?" Apparently Sonic missed the irritated glare. Rouge sighed and looked back to Sonic, "I don't know... he wouldn't say anything about it."

"Wait... you said he left here, does that mean he's been rooming with you?" Rouge opened her mouth to answer, but Sonic didn't wait for it, "For how long?" Cause he already figured it out, "Why?"

"Agent Rouge, report in!" A static-filled voice entered the living room, and Rouge knew what that was. It was her GUN walkie-talkie, and it was specifically meant for her to communicate with GUN. If they were calling, then that means something happened. And since they're called while she's on leave, that means whatever happened, it had to be bad. Rouge stood up and moved away from Sonic, and walked to the counter of the kitchen and picked up the radio, answering after she pushed away any lingering emotions she had, "Agent Rouge, reporting."

"Hope we didn't catch you in a bad time." Rouge was going to answer, but wasn't able to, "There's a situation at the train station. You'll definitely want to see this. Head there immediately. Over and out."

Rouge sighed. Despite her internal affairs, she had a job to do. She put her radio in her pocket and began to head out of the door, but then she felt her body just suddenly float in the air, then she noticed that arms were wrapped around her. Finally, she noticed that she was being carried by the blue blur, "Looks like you need a lift."

"No, I can..." She was interrupted when Sonic started to jog out of the house.

"Don't worry. I'll get you there in a jiffy," Sonic said with a smile, "Just hang on!"

Rouge didn't contest his determination. Honestly, it felt nice being catered after getting rejected... for the second time. She smiled after thinking about that, and just went along for the ride.

It took no time at all thanks to the supersonic hedgehog. Sonic let down Rouge as they both saw the Chaotix already on the scene, along with a few GUN personnel. Knowing their reputation, Rouge went to the Chaotix first... but immediately stopped when she noticed what is in the middle the street, "...Where in the world did that big crater come from?"

"That's what we were just figuring out," Espio said, looking to Rouge, "Something like this hasn't happened for a long time now." The crater was quite big, and took the entire width of the street, and even broke down the sidewalk. As far as depth went, it wasn't that deep, but definitely big enough to cause plenty of eyebrows to raise in surprise.

"So what do you got?" Rouge asked, looking curious herself. Any information would be good to start off of.

"It's actually quite simple." Vector said, looking proud of his quick thinking, "It was obviously an--"

"It was a big boom!" Charmy interjected, which made Vector glare at him, "And it was big too!"

"Quiet down Charmy, I'm trying to explain!" Rouge sighed, seeing that this kept going slowly, and she was already irritated from current events, "Now, as I was saying," Vector continued, "It was an explosion, but actually similar to ones we've seen before."

"Huh?" Sonic sounded, walking beside Rouge, "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. This type of explosion making this type of crater... one that just suddenly appeared. There's no evidence of a car bomb... or any type of explosive in general. It just appeared."

Rouge then finally got it, "You mean..."

But Sonic was the one to say it, "Chaos Blast. That's the only ability that could make that kind of crater."

Vector nodded enthusiastically, "That's right! Which means there was probably a fight here."

Rouge had heard enough. The pieces were now starting to fall together, but she still needed to know more information. _"Shadow..."_ She started to feel guilty... maybe there _is_ a reason why he left so abruptly. She turned away from the Chaotix and went to the GUN personnel.

"Agent Rouge," One officer looked at her with a nod, "Good to see you."

Sadly, Rouge wasn't in the same mood. They said that she really wanted to see this, and they were right. Meaning, they knew something, and she needed to find out, "You've sighted Shadow haven't you?"

The Officer paused for a moment, then he nodded, "Yes, he was detected on the scene."

Sonic then walked beside Rouge once he heard that, "Then where did he go? He couldn't have gone far."

"He didn't go far at all." This made Rouge curious, and she opened her mouth to say something, but closed it as the officer spoke again. What he said, absolutely shocked her.

"He's in the hospital."


	4. More Like Him

**Chapter 4: More Like Him**

"_As if things couldn't get any worse…"_ Is what he would've thought as he just stared in the darkness. It felt like it has been a long time to the black hedgehog. He still couldn't see anything… but he felt his breathing, his heartbeat, and he could feel his limbs… at least he thinks he does anyway.

He continued to just stare at the darkness. There wasn't anything better to do, besides hear the voices in his head… wait what? _"Where am I?"_ Shadow thought, as he used his hedgehog ears to listen to the voices… no words could be heard, but the sounds were there. Some sounded familiar, while a few felt quite new. He did however, was able to hear one word.

_Wake…_

"_Wake?"_ Shadow thought as his mind pondered about it, _"I can hear others… but I can't see them, nor can I move… maybe I'm dreaming…"_ He then mentally growled a bit. Dreaming was the last thing he wanted to do. He hadn't drifted in a long time, because if he did, he'll end up thinking about…

And there it was, the hallucinations in his head, the sounds of death, the screams, and the horror of reliving it once again.

"_Memories…"_

Shadow immediately blocked them out. He didn't feel like thinking about them, nor did he want to reminisce about them. He vowed to leave his past behind him, and he was going to do so. He did an excellent job of doing that, and no one was going to stop him, not even…

"_Why did I think of her…?"_ Shadow said melancholy as an image came to life right in front of his eyes. There she stood, easily a foot and a half taller than him, with the blond hair, the blue clothing, and the adorable smile, _"Maria…"_ As much as he tried, there was no blocking her out. Instead, he tried the next best thing, looking away.

_Shadow…_

As if that'd work, just her presence there made the black blur feel like dropping his entire defense. As much as he wanted to dismiss it, feeling her there was highly refreshing. He missed thinking about her, talking about her, and appreciating her. Shadow then began to think how insulting it must've been to cram her in the back of his head like he did after the Black Arms incident. His head shifted back to Maria… a light shined radiantly around her… such a sight to behold, _"Beautiful…"_

Shadow then noticed that, around him, there was still darkness. The only thing that showed light was Maria herself, _"Then there's only one thing I can do." _Shadow took a 

step forward, then ran straight to Maria. He could see his dead friend open her arms up to him, and he was more than eager to join them. Eventually, he leapt forward and went in to hug her.

_Wake up…_

Shadow's eyes opened up, and all he could see was… pink? _"What the…?"_ He then heard a high pitched squeal, which made Shadow cringe and fall right back on the hospital bed.

"Shadow, are you okay?"

Now that was a familiar voice, one he recognized quite well too. He looked over to the side of the bed to see a certain kitsune, Tails. Beside him was a reddened Amy. Obviously Shadow must've moved during his dream, and quite possibly hugged her… big mistake there, "I'm fine."

There was something wrong with his picture here… maybe it was because he had his forehead and chest wrapped up, and they were both stinging with pain… yeah, that's it, "What are you two doing here?" Shadow asked, in his usual tone.

"We heard you were in the hospital, so we decided to come…"

"Wait, I'm in the hospital?"

Tails nodded, "Yeah, you were pretty beat up, so they had to take you to the hospital."

Shadow growled slightly, then just sat up and eyed his injuries… he felt tempted to poke it, which he almost did…

_Don't touch your wounds, you'll only make them harder to heal._

…but he didn't. The statement from his ally stuck with him for an odd reason. Good thing too, because she was right. However, an unsettling feeling came to Shadow, "Is there anyone else coming?"

Amy's reddened face finally went away, and she nodded, "Yeah. Sonic…" for that moment, Shadow could've swore he saw her make the biggest smile for that second, "…is coming, and so is Rouge."

Shadow became more unsettled. The blue one was nothing at the moment. The best he'd do was tease him for getting put in the hospital, which would result in Shadow putting Sonic in the same predicament he's right now. However, Rouge was a different story, "I need to get out here." As soon as he began to move out of the bed, Amy and Tails moved closer to Shadow to keep him in bed.

"You can't! You gotta let yourself heal up first!" Tails exclaimed, grabbing Shadow's left shoulder while Amy grabbed the right.

_Hold still you hedgehog, don't move until I say you can._

"_Shut up…"_ Shadow thought as he tried to break free of the two. Tails was no problem. The little 9-year-old had scrawny arms, and his strength was all in that brain of his. Amy however was a bit more of a challenge. Despite the fact she always has a mallet wherever she goes, she also frequently exercised. Coupled with Shadow's current injuries, he wouldn't be able to break free without straining his muscles, which in the long run could cause more injury. Giving in, Shadow stopped trying and let himself be slammed back onto the bed, _"How irritating…"_

The last thing Shadow wanted to be was weak. Being in the hospital qualified as being weak, and it utterly pissed him off. With Sonic and Rouge coming, things were only going to go worse… especially after his little stunt he pulled back at Rouge's place.

_We're friends, right?_

"_GET OUT OF MY DAMN HEAD!"_ Thank goodness he didn't shout that out for real, but in his mind, it was as loud as thunder. He felt… something rise in him. He didn't know what it was… anger? Sadness? …Guilt?

"Calm down, Shadow." He looked over to see Amy looking at him straight in the face, "As long as you relax, you'll be out soon." He saw her make one of reassuring 'nothing can go wrong' smiles. Yeah, sure. Life isn't that simple when it comes to being the Ultimate Lifeform. He shook his head at Maria. She obviously didn't know what was going…

Wait a minute… where the hell did she come from? Furthermore, where did Amy go? It's like as if the both of them switched spots, because Shadow is right now staring right at Maria's face in that very room. He blinked once… she's still there. He then opened his mouth to call out to her.

"Shadow!"

Drat, it was the blue one. Shadow looked over to Sonic, who was at the doorway. If Sonic was there, that means Rouge was there as well. He looked back to Amy… well then crap. Just take away the only relief in the room right now, will ya? Nonetheless, he saw Amy practically leap over to 'her hero' and give him a hug… and Shadow only raised a brow when Sonic hugged back.

The Ultimate Lifeform felt something physically in his hand… a slight pain. He looked over to it and blinked, catching himself making a hardened fist, shaking almost violently. He immediately stopped when he noticed this however, and looked over to 

Amy… yes, that's right. This happened before, he was sure of it, _"Thinking back now… she's the one who made me remember…"_ Yet it happened so long ago. Why is Maria reappearing as Amy in the first place?

"Tails, Amy, mind if I had a private talk with Shadow?" Sonic asked.

Oh crap. Did he know something? Shadow kept his cool though. Sonic was the absolute last person he wanted to show any sign of weakness… besides the obvious injuries of course. Dismissing his worries, Shadow saw Amy and Tails eventually leave the room, and Sonic approached him. Sighing, the black blur just simply put his back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"So Shadow…" Sonic started, "What happened?"

Shadow simply said nothing. For one thing he didn't feel like saying anything, and secondly, that question was way too vague.

He heard him sigh, "Come on Shadow. Who did this to you? I can't help if you don't tell me."

Shadow could hear a slight… upset tone in Sonic. He didn't quite know from what though. Perhaps he did care that his rival got put in the hospital… but… "Who said I wanted your help?"

"Don't dodge the question, Shadow!" Sonic ordered.

_Can't you give me a straight yes or no answer!?_

Shadow gritted his teeth a bit, then sat up, "Where's Rouge?" Crap, that was a bad thing to bring up. Too bad his mouth opened up quicker than his mind.

Shadow's fear was right on the money too, "Why?" Sonic asked with a sarcastic tone, "So you can knock her out again?"

_We're friends, right?_

He doesn't know how, and he surely doesn't know why. But that statement just hit Shadow like a speeding bullet, straight to the heart. And it seriously just pressed his button with a sledgehammer. He gritted his teeth, and gained a red aura, then grabbed Sonic by the neck, "You don't know what I've been through, hedgehog!"

He missed the supersonic hedgehog by an inch, and Sonic took a step back, eyes slightly widened from the sight of the red aura. Shadow noticed what he just did, and put a hand on his forehead, taking a deep breath.

"So tell me."

Surprisingly, that didn't come from Sonic. Shadow looked up at the doorway, and looked at Rouge, his ally, and the person that has been interfering with his thoughts. He blinked… he didn't expect her to come at his current state of mind.

"Tell me, what you've been through," Rouge said, staring at Shadow. He could tell there was this emotion in her eyes… upset, perhaps? No, she clearly shows that she's upset whenever she has it, "Please." Shadow blinked when she said it.

"_Is she concerned?"_ Shadow looked at Rouge for a bit longer, before looking away at both her and Sonic, staring at the clear wall. At this point, his aura went away, but they quickly felt the urge to come back when Sonic spoke up, "The same thing is gonna happen if you don't let us help you, Shadow." He sighed with a hint of irritation before going silent once again. He then heard Sonic growl with just as much irritation, "Shadow…"

"Sonic," Rouge said, which made Shadow blink, "Could you give Shadow and me a moment alone?" He blinked again, then swiftly looked over to the batgirl with a confused look.

"All right…" He heard Sonic say before walking over to the door. He gave Rouge a nod, and she nodded back, before the blue one went out and closed the door.

Shadow then looked back at Rouge, who immediately looked back at him. The batgirl began to approach him, until she stood in front of the bed. He then saw her give this… nice, if you wish to call it that, smile, "It's just you and me now Shadow… please tell me what happened to you."

Shadow took a deep breath, and continued to look at her… despite it not being at the level of… well, Maria, the smile Rouge gave was quite comforting. If anything, she was trying her hardest to help… she took care of him, fed him, gave him a nice couch to sleep on and even kept him company. That was enough to trust her, right? _"But she'll just get in the way."_ No it wasn't. He convinced himself of that, and eventually eyed away from her, keeping silent. He heard nothing after that, and after a long eerie silence, he looked back.

That's when the unthinkable happened. Shadow's eyes widened completely when he saw Rouge slam her body on top of Shadow's as she literally leapt toward him. Shadow's upper body was then pinned down by Rouge's weight, and he looked back up to her. All he saw was a fist landing right on his face. His vision got a bit blurry from it, but it didn't matter, cause he was able to clearly see another fist land on his face again. Seeing what was going on now, Shadow put his hands up to stop Rouge's oncoming attacks, but it turned out to be in vain when she harshly smacked them away and a fist came and hooked him right across the right cheek.



"What are you--!" Shadow was interrupted by another hook across the left cheek, and he finally got the sense to put his hands up and grab Rouge's arms to make her stop! What the hell!?

"What am I doing?" Rouge asked sarcastically, "What am I doing!?" She asked again, but this time it was angrily, "Do you have any idea what kind of shit you put me through!? DO YOU!?" She showed her teeth, fangs showing as well, then she rammed her forehead right into Shadow's. Coupled with the current injury he had, this made Shadow yelp in undesirable pain, "YOU SELFISH PRICK!"

Shadow could hear the door trying to open, but it was being shook violently, as if it was jammed… or locked? _"That hedgehog must've locked the door!"_

Whatever the case, that was the least of his worries, because he was at the mercy of a pissed off bat that once again ripped away from Shadow's hands and got a punch in right on the face, "You leave me for two months, then you come back half dead, then I take care of you, and then you knock me out and leave with the audacity of saying I won't miss you!? YOU BASTARD!"

She pulled her fist back for another swing. At this point, Shadow wasn't going to be able to take much more with the hits, so he just shut his eyes tight, and said the only thing he could think of at that very moment, "STOP!"

He waited for the incoming pain, but he didn't feel it. So, he slowly opened his eyes, and saw Rouge with intense eyes that were practically screaming at his heart. That was enough to lower his entire defense and stare right at her. For a moment, he heard the door try to be forcefully opened again, "Miss Rouge, please open the door!" Both he and Rouge completely ignored it.

"Stop…?" Rouge stated, breathing slowly, yet roughly, "You want me to stop? Why can't you stop making me feel like crap!? Why can't you stop leaving my life wondering when you're going to come back! Why can't you stop thinking about yourself…" She leans forward, her face inches away from his, "…and be more like Sonic!?"

Oh no she didn't. Shadow would've thought that if he wasn't thinking about what the hell did Sonic do that made him so special all of a sudden. He opened his mouth… but nothing came out. For the first time in a long time, he was completely speechless. Rouge replied to his silence by getting off of him, and heading to the door, opening it, which made the three doctors trample in, "You can give them the key back now, Sonic."

Shadow was still stunned, and he just didn't know how to let his words out anymore, except for, "But…" He sat up, but by the time he did, Rouge was already gone, "But…"

He was immediately interrupted by the doctors, who rushed over to them, "Please stay calm and sit back Mr. Shadow, we'll take care of you! Check his injuries, hurry! And-" At that point, Shadow already blocked out the doctors.

"_But… I did think about you…"_

As Shadow continued to be checked on by the doctors, he sat back and stared up at the ceiling. The sounds and voices were all out of his head, and right now, at that very moment, he felt… sad.

_We're friends, right?_

"_Rouge… tomorrow, I'll tell you… everything."_ Shadow then felt something pierce his arm, and he slowly fell asleep.

* * *

A/N: Another day, another chapter (Told you I wouldn't take a half a year!) As you can see, things are getting pretty serious. Gotta say I had fun with Rouge on this chapter. The next one should be coming up soon.


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